Tulare County Office of Education Cucumbers. Reasons to Eat Cucumbers A ½ cup of cucumbers provides: A good source of vitamin K A source of water, a vital.

Tulare County Office of Education

Cucumbers

Reasons to Eat Cucumbers

A ½ cup of cucumbers provides:

•A good source of vitamin K

•A source of water, a vital nutrient

for the body.

½ cup is the size of a light bulb or one cupped handful

H2O

Water is an essential nutrient for all life forms.

H2O

Approximately 60-65% of the human body is made up of water.

H2O

Every cell, tissue, and organ and nearly every bodily function needs

water to operate.

H2O

You can meet your daily water requirements from foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as plain water and other beverages.

How Do Cucumbers Grow?

• Plants need flowers to produce fruit.

• Female flowers have parts called a pistil.

• Male flowers have parts called a stamen.

• Stamens produce pollen and the pistil contains the seeds.

How Do Cucumbers Grow?

The cucumber plant can have both

male and female flower parts.

This is called a mon-o-e-cious plant.

How Do Cucumbers Grow?

Outdoor cucumbers are monoecious.

When the female flower is pollinated, the cucumbers will have seeds.

How Do Cucumbers Grow?

Cucumbers grown inside greenhouses are usually par-then-o-car-pic. This means the

plants only have female flowers and do not need pollination.

These cucumbers will have no seeds.

What is Pollination?

When insects like bees visit flowers, the pollen inside the flower sticks to their hairy legs. When they visit another flower the pollen rubs off on the flower’s stigma.

This is called pollination. After pollination, fruit develops.

A Slice of Cucumber HistoryCucumbers were first known to have been

grown in India 3,000 years ago.

A Slice of Cucumber History

Columbus transported cucumbers to North America from Spain in

the early 16th century.

A Slice of Cucumber History

European trappers, hunters, and explorers traded cucumbers for squash, pumpkins, and gourds with native tribes of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.

Is it a Pickle or a Cucumber?

The cucumber species is divided into two categories: slicing and pickling.

Slicing cucumbers are usually served raw in salads, sandwiches, and snacks.

Is it a Pickle or a Cucumber?Pickling cucumbers are developed specifically for the pickling process.

They are generally smaller than slicing cucumbers with a thick, bumpy skin.

Just the Facts

There are over 800 species in the Cucurbitaceae family and they include cucumbers, gourds, melons, pumpkins, and squashes.

The inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the exterior.

Get Your Brain On

1. Fruits and vegetables are a source of water.

True

2. How much of the human body is made up of water?

60-65%

3. Plants need ______ and bees to produce fruit.

Flowers

4. Cucumbers grown in a greenhouse will have no _____.

Seeds

5. What are the two types of cucumbers?

Slicing and pickling

Tasting TrioCool Cucumber Cuties

Preparation: 1. Wash each cucumber and slice into 36 coins.2. Build your Cucumber Cuties by stacking a

cucumber coin on top of one cracker.3. Sprinkle the seasoning on top of the

cucumbers.

Ingredients:2 whole cucumbers2 sleeves whole-wheat crackers 1 oz. lemon-pepper seasoning

Cucumber Cuties

HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Loved it It was okay Didn’t like it

I sure like cucumbers!

For CalFresh information, call 1-877-847-3663. Funded by USDA SNAP-Ed, an equal opportunity provider and employer. Visit www.CaChampionsForChange.net for healthy tips. •California

Department of Public Health